Funding Approval - 17/4/11

Dear friends,

Once again I can write and
advise you all that we have cleared another
hurdle in getting the Queen’s Pier repaired and
re-opened to use. Tynwald have approved the
necessary funding to carry out what the
engineers have called SAPS. (Stabilisation and
Protection Scheme) but we would like to call
the first phase in
the process of full restoration.

The vote was close! Too close.
Of course both Ramsey’s MHKs did the right thing
as we would expect them to do and perhaps now is
the time to praise and thank them for their
valiant efforts in getting us this far over the
last few years. With the economic cuts they have
both faced this was a brave decision.

But what about the
others? How 14 members could vote the
cash, £100,000, for the work to be costed and
programmed in May 2010 and then 11 months later
refuse to vote for the necessary funds to do the
work beggars belief. They were specifically
requested not to vote for the first part if they
were not willing to commit to the full
programme. Were they really going to waste
£100,000?

“Adoption of this
option and commitment of expenditure is not
recommended unless there is an implied
commitment to future refurbishment and
expenditure. Without this commitment, adoption
of this option would merely delay a decision,
incur unnecessary additional costs and extend
the ongoing debate regarding the future of
Queen’s Pier.”

I do not think it could have
been expressed any clearer. Do you? Of course
some Members have consistently felt unable to
support the repairs to the Pier and we can all
respect them for that. We live in a democracy.

There was much talk of
other priorities. There always has been!
The Pier has always been kicked into the
long grass for the sake of other
priorities. Not this time!

Many who spoke against the motion
mentioned that “if the £40,000 allocated
per year has proved insufficient how
much more was it going to cost?” What
they failed to grasp was that this money
was a complete fiction.
It was
never spent which is why
the Pier needs the work so badly now.
£40,000 per year over the seventeen
years (£680,000) would
have been more than enough. All DoT
spent was £38,986 over
the twelve years to 2006. Less
than one year’s allocation in total.
That was and is the problem. These
figures are not made up. They came from
the Dept of Transport’s own written
answer to Tynwald!!
We would probably have copyright
problems if I pasted it here but I have
the full statement if anyone wants to
check it!

TABLE 43A

1995

£6,815

1996

£2,942

1997

£4.345

1998

£604

1999

£1,742

2000

nil

2001

£1,343

2002

nil

2003

£3,129

2004

£2,515

2005

£15,325

2006

£225

TOTAL

£38,986

I have thanked Anne Craine and
Allan Bell already and it is always invidious to
single out people for praise but I would like to
break with tradition and also thank three more
Members who helped achieve this result.

D.o.I Minister Phil Gawne of
course for his sterling work with the Working
Group(s) and in bringing the Reports and
proposals to Tynwald. Peter Karran for being a
good Friend of Queen’s Pier for so long and last
but by no means least Chief Minister Tony Brown
who grasped the nettle in 2006, and saw the
proposals through to the end. That this is the
chap I used to write such harsh words to for
neglecting the Pier during his term as Transport
Minster shows how far we have come. Thank you
Gentlemen.

So there we are. The money has
at last been allocated and the work can
commence. I am told that work will get under way
shortly and should be completed on schedule. We
shall see. We shall also keep an eye on progress
and the removal of artefacts.

We will be calling our Annual
general Meeting later this year and I hope many
of you will be able to attend and have something
positive to celebrate.